


Make it Through

by orphan_account



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Post Season/Series 08 Finale, awesome!charlie, human!Cas, this ended up actually kind of happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-25
Updated: 2013-06-25
Packaged: 2017-12-16 03:08:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/857069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“This is probably too much to ask, but can you drive up to Northern Michigan? Tonight?”<br/>“Uh, yeah, I can leave right now.” That would be at least a two hour drive, could be more like four depending on which part of Northern Michigan, but if Dean is asking, Charlie knows it’s important. “What’s going on?”<br/>“I need you to go get Cas.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Make it Through

**Author's Note:**

> Seen the season 8 finale? Okay, good, read on. :)

Dean Winchester’s phone rings. Not the one in his pocket, but one of the older phones he keeps charged up in the glove box just in case. Sam’s asleep in the passenger seat, and Dean doesn’t want to wake him, so he pulls the Impala over to the side of the road in order to dig the phone out.

He doesn’t recognize the number, or even the area code, but he answers it anyway.

“Hello?”

“Dean.” It’s Cas. Thank fuck, it’s Cas. There’s something in his voice, however, that even in just the one syllable, Dean can tell that something is off.

“Cas, what the hell happened? Are you alright?”

“Naomi wasn’t lying. About Metatron.”

“And she didn’t stop him? He cast all of the angels out of heaven?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re, what, fallen?”

“All of the angels have fallen, Dean. But I wasn’t among them.”

“What do you mean?”

“The last part of the spell to expel all of the angels from heaven - Metatron took my grace. I woke up in a forest, completely human, just as my brothers and sisters began to fall.” Cas’s voice is actually shaking.

“Whoa. Okay. Besides the... being human... are you alright?”

“I am hungry and exhausted and I am not entirely sure where I am, but I am not injured and I do not believe that I am in any immediate danger.”

Dean tries to think. He needs to help Cas. But he also needs to help Sam, and he’s got Crowley in the trunk of the Impala and has no idea what he’s going to do with him beyond stashing him in the Men of Letters’ dungeon. “Cas, just hang tight, I’ll figure something out. Can I call you back at this number?”

 

 

Charlie Bradbury’s phone rings, and after a quick glance at the caller ID she hits the talk button immediately.

“Dean? Are you okay?” She’s been anticipating this phone call for the last two hours, ever since the massive unexplained meteor shower started. Not that she knew for sure that that had anything to do with the Winchesters, but knowing their history...

“Yeah, I’m alright.” 

He doesn’t sound very okay, but she chooses not to call him out on it. “Is Sam okay?”

“Yeah. Well, no. I don’t know, he’s alive.”

“What can I do?” If he’s calling her right now - with how bad he sounds and it being immediately after what has to be some kind of major paranormal event - Dean must be about to ask her for help, and Charlie knows that that doesn’t come easily for him.

“This is probably too much to ask, but can you drive up to Northern Michigan? Tonight?”

“Uh, yeah, I can leave right now.” That would be at least a two hour drive, could be more like four depending on which part of Northern Michigan, but if Dean is asking, Charlie knows it’s important. “What’s going on?”

“I need you to go get Cas.”

 

The phone behind the counter of the only gas station mini mart in Hillman, Michigan rings, and the young man who is working there yawns and picks it up. “How can I help you?”

Castiel looks up from the cup of coffee he had purchased with the remainder of the money he had left from the handful of crumpled bills he had taken with him on his shopping trip - was that just a day ago? - and a moment later the phone is being held out to him. He walks over to the counter and takes the phone with a polite “thank you” to the clerk before going back to the few chairs on the other side of the room where he had been sitting.

“Hello Dean.”

“Hey, Cas, how are you holding up?”

“The mini mart had coffee, so I’m feeling slightly better.”

“Good. Now I’ve told you about Charlie before, right?”

“Yes.” Cas knew the story of the brave IT girl who helped the Winchesters obtain the Leviathan tablet. He’d been insane at the time that he’d heard it, but he remembered it nevertheless, and also remembered Dean mentioning seeing Charlie a few times recently. 

“She’s driving up to get you. I wish I could go, but I trust her and I think you’ll like her.”

“I understand. You have things to do that are more important than helping me.” It’s a statement, not an accusation.

“Cas...” Dean takes a deep breath. “It’s not a matter of more important.”

“I understand, Dean.” Cas doesn’t really believe Dean, but he’s not going to fight him just now.

“She’ll be there in a few hours, then we can get you back here and figure out what we’re going to do.”

“I’m sorry...”

Dean cuts him off. “Save it.” There’s a pause and then he says, “Is there somewhere safe you can wait until she gets there?”

“This convenience store closes at midnight. I - I walked past a church on the way into town. Methodist, I believe. I will be waiting outside.”

“Okay, Cas, I’ll tell Charlie to look for you there. Stay safe, okay?”

“I will do my best.”

 

It's a little before three when Charlie rolls into town, and finds the Methodist Church, pulling into the parking lot. As she gets out of the car, her keychain can of Mace clutched tightly in one hand just in case, she sees a figure  standing up from where he had been perched on the steps to a side door of the church and walking toward her.

"Castiel?" she asks as he nears her. He fits the description that Dean gave her - dark hair, just a little shorter than Dean, tan trenchcoat.

"Yes," he confirms. "And you are Charlie Bradbury?"

She nods. "Dean sent me to get you, since I was closer and Sam's not in very good shape right now."  She'd spent a good hour of the drive talking to Dean on the phone as he also drive. He'd obviously needed someone to talk to, and Charlie was happy to be able to help, especially since it meant that she was now fully filled in on what had happened since she had last seen the Winchesters.

"Sam..."

"Didn't finish the third trial, but Dean says he was close." Charlie fills in. "They're on their way back to the bunker right now, Dean's pretty adamant that he'll be all right." Castiel nods.

It's a little chilly, and there's no real reason for the two of them to stand around a parking lot for much longer, so Charlie suggests that they get this show on the road and Castiel looks at her quizzically just briefly before climbing into the passenger seat.

There’s one little 24-hour diner in town, and Charlie’s a bit hungry and figures that Cas probably is too, so they stop in to order some food to go. Cas wants a burger and a coffee, and Charlie goes ahead and orders the same for herself. It’s pretty standard diner food, but it’s good enough, and Cas seems to enjoy it.

Once they're on the road, Charlie calls Dean again to let him know that she has Castiel. Dean thanks her for the tenth time that night before asking to talk to Cas.  She hands the phone off to the former angel who assures dean that he is still alright before starting to try to apologize to Dean. Charlie can't make out what Dean is saying on the other end of the line, but she can hear him getting increasingly exasperated in tone. After a few minutes, Dean apparently hangs up on Cas, who says "Dean. Dean?" into the phone a few times before sighing and handing it back to Charlie.

"You guys will work it out." She assures Castiel. He doesn't look entirely convinced.

 

As they drive through rural Michigan, Charlie asks Cas a few questions, which he answers politely but succinctly. She seems to get the message that he doesn't particularly want to talk, and suggests they turn on some music. Cas thinks that sounds like a good idea, but when she asks him what he'd like to listen to, he doesn't know what to tell her, as he's never really needed to have an opinion on music before. She smiles reassuringly and shows him which buttons to push on the radio so he can find something he likes.

He goes through several stations of music he has never heard, a few with the loud guitar and drums music Dean likes, some that he wouldn't necessarily call music, then after a couple of talk shows he finds a station that is playing a lovely violin concerto and looks over at Charlie for approval.

She smiles. "Guess it makes sense that you're a classical music guy. And hey, the Bruch violin concerto, love this one." Cas nods, storing away the information that he likes classical music. If he's going to be human he should probably have a taste in music.

Four concertos, two sonatas, a couple of scherzos, one symphony, and several selections from operas and other longer works later, Charlie pulls up at her apartment in the suburbs of Detroit, intent that they both get some rest since it's now six AM, she's been driving all night, and they have a fourteen hour drive ahead of them still. She tells Cas that he can sleep in her bed and she’ll take the couch, but he insists that the couch is fine for him. He doesn’t actually plan on sleeping, though the rational part of him is telling him that he is exhausted and needs sleep - to sleep seems just a little too human, and he’s just not quite ready.

Charlie calls someone who she says is one of her “subjects” - Cas isn’t really sure what that means - and he brings over a pair of jeans and a few shirts that are more or less the right size for Cas. She then shows Cas where her shower is, how to turn it on, and which bottles to use to clean his hair and his body before she excuses herself to get a few hours of sleep. Cas showers without any major mishaps - he of course knows in theory how humans cleaned themselves but has never actually done it before - then changes into the new clothes and goes back out into the living room. The door to Charlie’s bedroom is closed, and Castiel decides it would be okay for him to watch some television as long as he turns the volume down.

The couch is made up as a bed, but Cas just sits on top of the blanket and watches some program that he has of course never heard of. His body is telling him that he needs to sleep, but he doesn’t want to. He’s just going to sit here and wait.

 

Charlie’s alarm clock goes off at eleven thirty - she’s still tired of course, having slept less than five hours, but she wants to get Cas to the bunker as soon as she can. She yawns and makes her way to the kitchen to get a large pot of coffee started. When she opens her bedroom door, she hears the TV, on at a low volume. Castiel is on the couch in front of it, awkwardly sprawled on top of the bedding that she had put there for him, sound asleep.

She figures that he’ll be able to roll out of bed, eat something, and be out the door pretty quickly, so she lets him sleep as she quickly makes breakfast and packs what she’ll need for the road trip. Once she’s dressed, bags by the front door, she brings Cas a cup of coffee and gently shakes him awake.

He blinks blearily at her. “I fell asleep.”

She nods, handing him the coffee as he sits up. “You were pretty tired, dude.”

He takes a sip of the coffee. “This is very good.”

She laughs. “Well, compared to crappy diner coffee it is.”

 

A little more than 24 hours after Charlie found Cas waiting for her outside the church in Hillman, Michigan, she parks her car outside the Men of Letters’ bunker in Lebanon, Kansas. Charlie grabs a few bags out of the trunk - Cas doesn’t have any bags, he had never really owned anything except for the now dirty suit that is folded in Charlie’s suitcase and his trenchcoat, which he is now wearing over the jeans and striped polo shirt that Charlie’s “subject” had brought over. Stifling yawns, they both walk down to the entrance to the bunker and Charlie knocks on the door. A minute later, Dean opens the door, looking as tired as Cas feels but he seems to be happy to see them.

“Man am I glad to see you two,” Dean says as he pulls Charlie into a quick but firm hug and then Cas into a longer one.

They walk through the bunker to the hallway off the main room where Sam and Dean’s bedrooms are, along with a handful of similar rooms, one of which is now occupied by Kevin Tran, and another which Dean had given to Cas when he had been there a few days previously. Dean tells Charlie that he’s made up the bed in one of the spare rooms for her to stay in as long as she wants to stick around. Sam’s door is open and Cas looks in as they walk by - Sam’s asleep, half-propped up on a pile of pillows. Dean says that Sammy seems to be doing better, and Cas is glad to hear it. 

 

The next morning, it seems like things are almost good.

By the time that Dean stumbles into the kitchen at 10:30 in the morning, Charlie, Cas, and Kevin are in there frying bacon and eggs, and even making waffles in a waffle iron that the men of letters left behind. Cas is tending the bacon, which consists of poking it with a fork every so often and asking Charlie if it’s time to turn it yet. Kevin is a little cold toward him still but seems to be enjoying having Charlie there, someone to talk to who isn’t a Winchester.

Sam stumbles into the kitchen just as Charlie’s putting a plate of food in front of Dean. He’s still pale with dark circles under his eyes, but looking much better than he had the day before, and indeed better than he’s looked since the second trial. “Hey Sammy, breakfast.” Dean grins with a mouth full of waffle. Sam sits at the table next to Dean, and Charlie brings him the next plate of food before serving Cas, Kevin, and finally herself.

“Hey Charlie, can you make up one more plate?” Sam asks. Everyone looks at him and Dean raises his eyebrows. “Hey, Crowley’s got to eat, too.”

They’re not actually sure whether that’s true at this point, whether Crowley is actually human enough to need to eat, and Dean still has no warm fuzzy feelings for the guy, but they probably shouldn’t let him starve. “Yeah, I’ll bring the plate down.” he says.

“No, Dean, I can do it.” Sam counters. Dean’s not entirely sure that Sam should be facing the recently dethroned king of hell in his current state, or even walking as far as the dungeon alone, but he decides to give Sam the benefit of the doubt - Crowley’s not going anywhere any time soon.

Sam leaves with a tray holding the plate of food, a glass of juice, and a cup of coffee and comes back five minutes later looking a little more worn out than before but saying that Crowley had politely taken the food and was eating it. He sits back down next to Dean and starts eating, complementing the cooks, and Dean can't help but smile. Sure, the world is still just as much a mess as it had always been, there are fallen angels running around everywhere along with all the demons, but he is here with his brother, who seems to be on the mend, with Charlie who has always been a much-needed breath of fresh air, with Cas, the angel-who-is-no-longer-an-angel who he is close with in a way that neither of them can really explain but deep down he knows that it's good, with Kevin, who had never wanted a part in this but who has proved time and time again that he was an invaluable member of the team. He is here with his family, and together, somehow, they can make it through.

 

 


End file.
